Milpitas man gets seven years to life for arranging vicious attack on ex-wife

HAYWARD -- A concert promoter convicted of aggravated mayhem for paying three men to maim his ex-wife at her Fremont home last year was sentenced Monday to seven years to life in state prison.

Rakesh Paul Singh, 55, of Milpitas, was also convicted last month of conspiracy to commit mayhem for the Feb. 13, 2013, assault on his ex-wife outside her Greenhills Way home, prosecutors said. An Alameda County Superior Court jury handed down its verdict May 6 at the Hayward Hall of Justice in the courtroom of Judge Morris Jacobson.

Jurors deliberated for two days following the trial, which lasted more than a month.

Trial testimony revealed that Singh, who jail records show also worked as a travel agent before his arrest, wanted his ex-wife's face disfigured because he believed she was seeing another man, and that he insisted the attack look like a robbery. Additionally, witnesses testified that Singh had orchestrated similar attacks on former business partners in the past in other jurisdictions.

Deputy District Attorney Charles Wilson, who prosecuted the case, said Singh's wife was attacked with a hammer and a knife about 9 a.m. by two men as she attempted to get into her black Mercedes in the driveway of her Greenhills Way home.

As she screamed for help, the men continued to attack her, pummeling her in the face and head. The men then ran off.

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The woman was treated at Regional Hospital of San Jose for cuts to her cheeks, neck and ears, which required stitches and caused permanent facial damage.

Police eventually learned Singh paid 28-year-old Sunnyvale resident Ricardo Alejandro Rivera $500 to hire two men to attack her after she refused to reconcile their relationship. The couple divorced in January 2012 but had met on many occasions to discuss the relationship, records show.

The night before the attack, Singh's ex-wife said she met with Singh at the Walmart on Osgood Road in Fremont and told him she was dating someone else and that they would not be reconciling, according to the affidavit.

The three men who Singh hired to attack his ex-wife each previously pleaded no contest to one count of mayhem, and one of them -- Rivera -- testified against Singh at trial, Wilson said.

Rivera, who was originally charged with aggravated mayhem, pleaded guilty to the lesser included crime on Aug. 23. He faces eight years in prison and is set for sentencing on June 10.

Donald Harbaugh, 55, of San Jose, entered his plea on Aug. 22 and faces 13 years in prison when he is sentenced June 9. Also set for sentencing that day is Morris Kurtz, 53, of San Jose, who entered his plea Aug. 16. He faces nine years in prison, prosecutors say.

Singh's attorney, Michael Cardoza, could not immediately be reached for comment.